Neuroscience
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Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one of the most common, most formidable, and deadliest malignant types of primary astrocytoma with a poor prognosis. At present, the standard of care includes surgical tumor resection, followed by radiation therapy concomitant with chemotherapy and temozolomide. New developments and significant advances in the treatment of GBM have been achieved in recent decades. ⋯ In this review, we outline some of the most recent literature on the various available treatment options such as surgery, radiotherapy, cytotoxic chemotherapy, gene therapy, immunotherapy, phototherapy, nanotherapy, and tumor treating fields in the treatment of GBM, and we list some of the potential future directions of GBM. The reviewed studies confirm that GBM is a sophisticated disease with several challenges for scientists to address. Hence, more studies and a multimodal therapeutic approach are crucial to yield an effective cure and prolong the survival of GBM patients.
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Increasing evidence points to the involvement of cell types other than motor neurons in both amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the predominant motor neuron disease in adults and infants, respectively. The contribution of glia to ALS pathophysiology is well documented. Studies have since focused on evaluating the contribution of glia in SMA. ⋯ Smn together with Gemins 2-8 and Unrip, form the Smn complex which is indispensable for the assembly of spliceosomal small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs). We show that glial-selective perturbation of Smn complex components or disruption of key snRNP biogenesis factors pICln and Tgs1, induce deleterious effects on adult fly viability but, similar to Smn reduction, had no negative effect on neuromuscular function. Our findings suggest that the role of Smn in snRNP biogenesis as part of the Smn complex is required in glia for the survival of the organism, underscoring the importance of glial cells in SMA disease formation.
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Somatosensory neurons detect vital information about the environment and internal status of the body, such as temperature, touch, itch, and proprioception. The circuit mechanisms controlling the coding of somatosensory information and the generation of appropriate behavioral responses are not clear yet. ⋯ In this study we describe and validate a rabies tracing approach for mapping mouse spinal circuits receiving sensory input from distinct, genetically defined, modalities. We analyzed the anatomical organization of spinal circuits involved in coding of thermal and mechanical stimuli and showed that somatosensory information from distinct modalities is relayed to partially overlapping ensembles of interneurons displaying stereotyped laminar organization, thus highlighting the importance of positional features and population coding for the processing and integration of somatosensory information.
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Accurate and efficient non-rigid registration is important to investigate neural mechanisms in multi-session two-photon (2p) imaging across a few days. The 2p imaging recordings from different sessions usually possess certain complex misalignment or huge data variance due to relocation errors during experimental operations or brain recovery. Most of the reported neural image registration tools were able to solve the registration problem in the same session with small deformation. ⋯ In this study, we report the development of a non-rigid registration method for 2p imaging in mice based on image triangulation and piecewise affine transformation (TPAT) technologies. The TPAT method supported both automatic and semi-automatic operation types, and both showed great performance in the benchmark test of non-rigid neural image registration. The proposed method constitutes a step forward in promoting and accelerating discoveries from multi-session 2p imaging research.
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Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury often follows cardiovascular aberrations that predispose the patient to be neurological and cognitive abnormalities. Pharmacological postconditioning (pPoCo) aims to mitigate I/R origin cerebral infarction and neurobehavioral impairment. Protocatechuic acid (PCA) is a natural polyphenol possessing anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. ⋯ Histopathology revealed a decrease in total infarct area (TTC staining) and cortical neuron density by I/R surgery that was attenuated by PCA. Trigonelline antagonized beneficial effects of PCA pPoCo and attenuated Nrf2 pathway in I/R mice model. PCA pPoCo dose-dependently improves neurobehavioral functions against global I/R injury via the Nrf2 mechanism.